


The Granger Game

by weaverduckie



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Other, Point System, Video Game, life simulation
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-03-01
Updated: 2015-03-01
Packaged: 2018-03-15 20:32:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,636
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3461090
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/weaverduckie/pseuds/weaverduckie
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>With one life behind her, Hermione is born again with a chance to earn fame and renown for herself and her friends.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Granger Game

**Author's Note:**

> I don't own the Harry Potter Franchise or anything related except for this work of fiction.

It was September 19th, and the Granger house was dead silent. On what should have been a joyous occasion, there was little cause to celebrate. One year, ago, Mrs. Granger had given birth to a delightful baby girl. Today, however, she didn’t cry or wriggle, and her lips were gradually turning blue. There was a spilled bottle of Windex on the floor in the kitchen, and the baby girl had been found lying beside it. Mr. Granger turned away as his wife buried her head to the small, limp body and cried.

Somewhere above her in the dark chamber, Hermione heard a Voice calling to her. It wasn’t so much distinctive words as it was coaxing sounds, and she slowly opened her eyes and turned her attention towards its source.

 “Hermione Jean Granger?” The baby laying in the pool of light started wide-eyed into the darkness beyond. “Welcome to something we in the business like to call Limbo.” She started to cry. “No, no, you haven’t done anything wrong. It’s just a matter of…formality. You die, you go through a little process and paperwork, and we get you on your way. How’s that sound?” Not waiting for a response, the Voice continued, “We’re just going to tally up some things here, and decide what we’re going to do with you.”

 There was scraping and creaking, and then the noise stopped. High above her, Hermione could see giant scales. One of them was illuminated as if by some heavenly source, and the other as if it embodied the fires of hell itself. The poor baby didn’t know that she wasn’t far from the mark.

 “Miss Granger, I hope you didn’t walk too far away from our little proceedings here.” There was some muffled laughter from high above, and possibly from below as well. “We’re going to hold a trial to decide the fate of your soul. Contrary to popular belief, babies are not blameless. You’d be surprised, actually, and the king of shenanigans that the little ones can get themselves into. Anyway, we’re going to list your deeds, and place them on one of the pans on this trusty scale here. Whichever one weighs the most is where you’ll be going for eternity, whether it be the pearly gates or eternal hellfire. Are you ready?”

 Hermione stared up at the scale, transfixed by the Voice, the background drone of the witnesses, and the gleaming scale itself in all its grandeur.

 “I hereby open the case of the late Hermione Jean Granger, on trial for reckless death. She stands,” there was a chuckle among the crowd, “she lies awaiting judgment before you.” There was a hush in the chamber as if every ear was turned towards the Voice.

 “Charge number one, committed with no motives and no conscious thought: Hermione Jean Granger lies on trial for the enabling of sexual relations between her parents. Hell, what claim do you make on her soul?”

 From far, far below her, Hermione heard a rumbling, almost incoherent Voice. “Hell claims the soul of this infant in the name of enabling one of the seven deadly sins. Miss Granger is an enabler of lust and must not be allowed into heaven.”

 “Heaven, how will you save this poor girl’s soul from eternal damnation?”

 From above, there came a chorus of Voices singing their pleas for mercy. “Heaven makes the pleas that the Lady Granger was bringing about god’s will when she facilitated her birth. We claim that no harm was done, and no new sins were committed with this act. Her parents had committed the sin of the flesh several times before.”

 “Heaven and hell have stated their testimonies. Juries of the eternal, how do you find the accused?

 The scale tipped ever so slightly, putting the glowing pearl lower than the blazing fire, and a Voice declared. “Hermione Granger is found blameless in the matter of her conception.”

 “Charge number two, committed with no motives and no conscious thought: Miss Granger lies on trial for causing her mother severe discomfort and abnormal cravings. Heaven, what claims do you make to save her from the hellfire?”

 “Heaven testifies that her mother’s discomfort were not caused by the child, but by her own actions and conscious decision to conceive the child.”

 After a pause and some cheap remarks that heaven was making a weak case, the Voice spoke again. “Hell, how do you propose to claim this soul?

 “We state that because we find Hermione complicit in her own conception, we must logically fault her for her mother’s cravings.”

 “In the case of the accused on the second charge, how do the juries of the eternal find the accused? The scale tipped the same way again, with the hellfire and brimstone significantly rising even farther than the pearl. “Hermione Granger stands innocent for her mother’s discomfort.”

 Through all of these proceedings, Hermione had been watching attentively. Now, as if she understood with a wisdom far beyond her age, she began to cry.  The realization that her entire future was being decided finally dawned on her.

 “Charge number three brought against the accused: involuntary suicide. We know that it’s not technically a crime anymore, per se, but it still violates a huge religious rule and we can’t let you go easily on that. Seeing as your parents aren’t dead, we have to hold you accountable. Heaven and hell, let’s hear your claims.”

 “Heaven does not claim this soul. We concede that it was a suicide of sorts, and we cannot pardon that crime.”

 “Alright, alright, I've never seen that done before. For formalities sake, however, hell needs to make a persuasive claim for the books.”

 “Hell wants nothing to do with this soul either, in all due respect. Even we won’t hold the baby accountable for an action like that. She’s one year old for…someone’s…sake.”

 “Well, isn’t this interesting,” the Voice said hesitantly, “I've never had hell make a moral decision before. Juries of the eternal, how do you decide?”

 Even though neither party wanted her soul, hell had given the best reason for not claiming it. In other words, the scale tipped towards them even when the argument was who it should tip away from. Both pans on the scale stood in completely even balance now, as the final charge had been the heaviest. Everything went dead quiet; there wasn’t even muffled whispering from the pits of fire below the chamber.

 The Voice spoke again. “It appears that no decision can be reached regarding the eternity of Miss Granger. I supposed a retrial is in order.” There was a chorus of heavy sighs from above and below. Obviously, no one wanted to sit through another lengthy trial of this kind.

 “Alright, alright then. A tough crowd drives a hard bargain, I suppose. We’ll give young Hermione a chance to actually live this time, alright? Give us something interesting to try her for in the relatively near future.” This time, there were sighs of relief. “Then let’s have the sentencing, shall we?”

 There was wild fanfare from all around, and the voice proclaimed, “Hermione Jean Granger, I hereby sentence you to another life on earth.” She stared wide-eyed into the darkness, hoping to see the speaker and receive further explanation. Apparently the Voice sensed it, because it continued.

 “This time, however, you will be aided by some unseen forces. We’re going to make sure that you live long enough to justify a retrial, and experience enough so that we have some charges to bring against you. Here’s how it’s going to work: You will be born again into the same home. No one will have any recollection of their previous lives. It will be as if this whole fiasco never happened. Except, life will not work for you the same way that it works for other people. You’ll want to earn points.

 “You can earn points in various ways. Some of the easiest for you will be the acquisition of friends and the building of other relationships. Other methods include learning new things, participating in events, and defeating enemies. For making friends, they have to like you because of your own merit. You cannot attempt to buy them. Some friends are worth more than others, but you’ll have to figure that out for yourself. Mainly, it will depend on how influential they are on your future. For learning new things, you have to completely master the skill. This may be easy or hard for you, depending on the subject. There will be ways to make it easier. Finally, you must defeat enemies and thwart their plans. This will earn you points and possibly friends along the way. It will definitely help you learn new skills.

 “Let’s talk about skills for a second. These are abilities that you acquire along the journey through your life. These are easy or hard to acquire. Acquiring an easy skill won’t earn you many points, but it will go quickly. A hard skill will take longer to learn, but will earn more points. You will get perks and handicaps, which will help you specialize at certain things. You must trade your points for perks, but taking a handicap upon yourself willingly will earn you more points. All of these things can be leveled up to make life easier or harder for yourself. I suppose I had better give you something to start off with, hm? You will get the perk “bookworm,” which will allow you to excel in academic subjects and acquire academic skills more easily. You will also have the burden of a “logical mind” handicap, making it difficult for you to acquire the more occult and superstitious skills. Other than that, the best way to learn is to play the game, Miss Granger.”


End file.
